Ma-Ma's Requiem
by Starsurfer108
Summary: Ma-Ma captures Dredd and interrogates him. AU ending to Dredd (2012). Sorta. xD


"You're a real piece of work, Dredd. But then again, so am I. This place is rigged with explosives, and the trigger is synched with my heartbeat. Drop your gun, Judge."

A sneer of disgust came on his face. The _only_ way for a Judge was to be uncompromising. The good guys don't bend under pressure. "This isn't a negotiation. The sentence is death."

A flicker of apprehension came across Ma-Ma's face, only to be hidden moments later. "You can't afford to take the risk."

Dredd groaned as a hidden henchman got him with a stun bullet, and the world faded to black.

-0-

"Do you want me to remove his body armor, Ma?"

"No, you fuckhead. His death needs to look natural, done in defense. Besides, he'll die faster without the armor."

Despite his best efforts to control himself, Dredd gasped due to the shooting pain in his side from the earlier wound from the armor-piercing bullet. Bright spots danced before him as his vision slowly returned. To his chagrin, his wrists were tied to a chain suspended from the ceiling, causing his arms to be uncomfortably stretched upwards. They'd barely given him enough length to stand.

Ma-Ma looked at him, alert to the status of her prey. She then turned her head, silently asking why everyone else was still there. The henchmen quickly left the room, leaving them alone.

Ma-Ma surveyed him, cold, chilling, gleeful. "You _are_ a real piece of work, Dredd. I hadn't heard of you before today, but I looked you up while you were sleeping - you're the best of the best."

Dredd remained silent. He wasn't going to give her anything.

She smiled in a predatory way, savouring the defeat of anyone who dared challenge her power, especially those who could be considered worthy rivals. He knew she wasn't going to make this easy. She picked up an iron bar, the metallic rasp echoing throughout the room as one end dragged along the floor. "And look where it got you," she said mildly, sweetly, the dulcet tone in her voice in heavy contrast with her actions.

Triumphantly, she took a swing at him, the impact on the armor over his bullet wound. Dredd shouted in pain and his legs trembled, now struggling to support his own weight. Taking deep breaths, he tried to control himself.

"Think of all the people you could have helped, if only you didn't come after me."

Another whack. Dredd saw stars, the pain bringing him to the limit of his consciousness, but not for long enough. The agony returned after a moment. He was losing control over his body, his pain now instantaneously becoming evident.

"Always fighting an uphill battle."

_*bam*_

"Always protecting those who need help, no matter what."

_*pow*_

"Why?" she asked with a sneer, almost laughing at him. Dredd knew she was referring to the judicial system being hopelessly outmatched; a cruelly idealist perspective in a harsh reality. He didn't know whether it was a rhetorical question or not, but he wasn't going to answer anyway, so it didn't matter. At this point, he was just waiting to lose consciousness.

_"Why?" _she said in a stronger voice, leaning forward, demanding an answer. Gone was the triumphant expression from before, and her eyes were tinged with something akin to bitterness. Dredd could sense that this wasn't the typical interrogation.

She drew back, livid, killer eyes staring him down. "Well, maybe it's better to kill the hope. Would only prolong the suffering otherwise." Dredd knew that uncompromising and incorruptible men like himself were the 'hope' of the judicial system, but he wondered whether she was also referring to her past. He knew she'd gone beserk when her pimp had sliced her face.

She threw the iron bar to the floor with a clang and fell on him, blindly punching and kicking wherever she could. Dredd was reeling from the pain, spluttering, blood spilling from more places that he cared to imagine.

She finally stopped, gasping from the exertion. The expression on her face was very distant. She didn't make eye contact with him as she left the room.

"Take him downstairs and finish him," he heard her muted voice through the door.

-0-

Ma-Ma stood looking over the balcony of the 200th floor, tension evident in her face. Her henchmen had wisely avoided her when they saw she was in a bad mood.

There were a couple of gunshots. Surprised, she turned around and saw Dredd in the doorway.

His body was a mess; his arms and legs trembling and he looked barely conscious. Even though, she knew there was no escape.

She faced him strongly, and didn't flinch when he aimed his gun at her. Considering his earlier words, there was nowhere to go. She awaited the inevitable.

"Lifetime… in the cubes… if you comply," he managed to speak.

Her mouth fell open. She already knew he'd detected more about her painful past than she wanted him or anyone else to see, but he was actually being compassionate towards her despite her unspeakable crimes? And it looked like it wasn't easy for him make her this offer, that there was a lot of internal conflict. But he was doing it anyway.

A peaceful expression came to her face, and she gave a soft smile. She knew he would have protected her back then, and he even felt guilty for not being there, to the point where she deserved his compassion.

She leapt backwards, falling off the balcony.

A lifetime in the cubes wasn't worth anything to her, but she had what she wanted.

Someone cared.

END

A/N: This idea came because I'd read a manga called Rurouni Kenshin – there's an assassin Sojirou who only became an assassin because he was weak and being picked on, so when he was fighting Kenshin (someone who always would protect the weak), the anger at Kenshin not being there came through. A marvellous moment. So it's a retread of that, in a way.

I guess I've always been attracted to themes that someone is never beyond redemption, and the grey area between 'good' and 'evil'. It's an interesting thought that all bad behaviour in the world can actually be broken down into something more understandable. (even though destructive behaviour needs to stop, understanding someone still inspires compassion)

And let's just say that Anderson is alive and kicking somewhere, eh? ;)


End file.
